Adopted
by Kyuohki
Summary: Apple-shenanigans. Ezio is shrunk and gains new appendages - he needs to find Leonardo and somehow change back. But there are challenges on the way, and Ezio beginning to be distracted by many of his new instincts.
1. Chapter 1

**1 ** - Adopted

"Damn it."

Ezio blamed the Apple. He doubted that his condition was the fault of anything else.

Tiny ears flattened back, nearly invisible against his hair. He was kneeling at the edge of a rooftop, glaring at the now enormous drop to the window. A dark tail swayed behind him, buffeted by rain and wind. It nearly sent him over the edge on a couple of instances, as he struggled to adjust to the different balance and the storm.

He couldn't remember exactly when he shifted to this tiny form. He hadn't touched the Apple in weeks. And while it had flickered with light, nothing remarkable seemed to happen, so Ezio had put it out of his mind.

Obviously a delayed reaction. Now he was at the only place where he knew that he could get help. But getting down to Leonardo's workshop was the issue. He couldn't see any good handholds under the roof, and the normal handholds he used on the wall were too far apart in his current state. He barely made it up to the roof as it was, three buildings away.

He didn't want to double back and return to the street level. His small size had made him a target for any animal in the alleys, and going into the main streets was completely out of the question. He didn't want to be picked up by a curious passerby. Worst case, he'd be found by a guard.

He glanced back down, shuddering at the thought of hanging from the wet roof tile, from the much larger drop to the street if he miscalculated the jump. No, this definitely was not an option to get to Leonardo.

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The trip back was not pleasant, and it had turned dark as he finally got to his destination. At least the rain had stopped by the time he reached the edge of the building. Once he hit street level, a curious cat had decided that he was an interesting plaything, batting at him with a paw.

"Go away!" Ezio shouted, scrambling to his feet.

The beast ignored his shouting, deciding that it would take him back to whatever nest it had claimed for itself, catching him by the back of his outfit and lifting him like a kitten. Ezio flailed but had no real leverage to hit the cat with any kind of force. He could hear the thing purring as he was carted off.

"Put me down!"

This was not one of his days.

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He was lucky in a way, the cat had brought him closer to Leonardo's, ducking into a broken box lined with hay down the street. Ezio had given up on struggling, the swaying from being carried oddly relaxing. He briefly saw a dish outside the box, clearly this cat was a pet. He was deposited in a pile of squirming, warm bodies. The young kittens were quite young, still mewling for milk.

Ezio crawled out the pile carefully, but a paw landed on him before he could get to the broken opening of the box. He was sent sprawling down in the hay, and the cat gently pulled him closer. The purring had grown in volume, as the mother cat firmly held him down before her. He struggled again, but one of his arms was pinned. The assassin froze when he felt the cat's warm breath settle over his head. That was the only warning he got before a warm, rough tongue swept over his ears. He yelped, but it did nothing to deter the cat. He had no choice but to submit to the cleaning.

No, this definitely was not a good day.

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It was morning. Ezio blinked blearily at the light filtering in through the wooden sides of the box. The cat had kept him in her grasp throughout the night, obviously not wanting him to sneak off. He had been lulled to sleep by the rumble of her purr, and he was definitely warm. He could feel her rub her head against his, briefly licking between the two triangular ears. Ezio twitched at the feeling, wondering how long it would be before he could get away.

"This is ridiculous." After that impromptu bath she had given him, he wanted nothing more to get away and dunk himself in the nearest, cleanest puddle of water. Ezio's nose wrinkled at the memory, somewhat disgusted with himself at feeling squeamish from the cat's saliva, when he had been dragged through far worse on some of his missions.

He could hear footsteps outside the box, people going about their business. The cat's head lifted, her ears twitching. Ezio frowned, but soon could hear footsteps getting closer. There was a scrape of something outside the box, and the cat twitched. She grabbed Ezio again, lifting him briefly. She batted a space in the middle of the kittens, ignoring the mewled protests, ignoring the indignant yelp from the assassin, and deposited Ezio in the hole she made. Before he could climb out, the kittens had closed the gap, trying to keep warm.

The cat whisked out, purring and meowing at whoever was outside.

"Hello there! Are you ready for breakfast, hmmm?" More noise and scraping outside, the cat's meows growing more demanding. Ezio frowned, that voice was familiar, but it was muffled and distorted by the box so he couldn't quite place it.

"There you go! You are looking much better, no longer quite so skinny. How are your kittens doing, I wonder? Are they getting enough to eat as well?"

Ezio made a strangled noise as he saw a hand reach inside, now trying to bury himself under the pile. _This is bad, this is very bad!_ His thoughts were chaotic as fear took hold, not wanting to be discovered. The hand gently brushed over the kittens. He felt the fingers settle over him, and another noise strangled out. Instead of continuing on, the hand moved back and one traced over his head gently.

"What's this?"

The hand carefully dug around him, separating him from the kittens. The fingers curled around Ezio and he found himself awkwardly lifted. The tiny assassin twisted in the hold, fear flattening his ears back. He felt himself slip slightly, and he doubled his efforts. But another hand entered the box, preventing his fall as it settled under him as he was pulled out.

"What do we have here, hmm? Another adop—" The voice faltered as Ezio was pulled into view, the hands jerking in surprise. Ezio blinked rapidly, blinded briefly by the bright light, unable to see anything beyond a dark blur between the fingers holding him.

"Wha-what? What is this?" The hand lifted from atop him. "E—Ezio...?"

Ezio's head shot up, finding himself under a sharp pair of blue eyes. Blonde hair and that red hat. Leonardo.

"Leonardo!"

"My word, Ezio! What has happened to you?"

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**2 ** - Clean

Ezio sighed in contentment. He had gotten that bath he wanted earlier in the morning - not from a puddle, but a warm bath. He dimly remembered undressing and climbing into a shallow dish filled with water. Hands had helped him clean off the dried saliva from the cleaning that mother cat subjected him to, a soft cloth rubbing gently over his new triangular ears and tail. Ezio remembered trying to pull away, insisting that he could clean himself, but there wasn't much he could do to prevent the ministrations. The bath was even pleasant despite that, and he nearly fell asleep as he slowly relaxed.

The assassin now dozed, wrapped in something warm and soft. He could hear a chuckle above him, but couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. This was the first bit of peace he had since the start of his dilemma, and he wasn't about to let anything ruin it. Ezio felt the nest of cloth he buried into being lifted and there was a gentle swaying as he was moved.

He twitched, head lifting wearily, trying to see where he was being taken. A box sat on a worktable, sides cut low and it looked filled with batting and cloth. His nest was set gently down, and he turned to look up at who had carried him. His sight was blurry with fatigue, while he had slept while nestled in that cat's embrace, it had been fitful. He remembered someone lifting him from the pile of kittens, and it was by someone he knew...?

"L-le...leon-rdo." It came out slurred, and his head kept dropping down as sleep threatened to take him. He jerked, eyes widening comically as he tried to stay awake. Fingers gently smoothed over his hair, rubbing at the base of his ears. He twitched under the treatment, eyes sliding closed. A hand once again lifted him gently, and Ezio was carefully laid on the makeshift bed. The same soft cloth was gently tucked around him and the tiny assassin drifted off.

"Sleep, Ezio. We can talk later."

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**3 ** - Surrogate

Leonardo stared at the small form. He smiled in spite of himself, finding the sight endearing. Ezio's golden eyes drooped shut, sleep overtaking the assassin despite his attempts at fighting it. Leonardo remembered their brief conversation as he quickly took his friend inside the workshop, Ezio voicing his opinion that his current state was due to the Apple.

Leonardo had the Apple hidden in his workshop from before this...change. He was holding it temporarily for Ezio, and giving him time to study it more. He remembered how the golden ball had sparkled under Ezio's hand, before going dark. Ezio had to be right, that his form was a result of a delayed reaction to whatever the Apple had done. But the inventor still didn't know how the Piece of Eden worked, so how he would change his friend back was going to be a problem.

The blonde turned his gaze back to the tiny assassin and wondered how long Ezio had been wandering the streets before his stray cat, Alcina, had found him. He shuddered at the realization that Ezio had been extremely lucky to be found by that particular cat.

She'd been a stray Leonardo saved, dangerously thin and nearly dead. He had taken her in, fed and nursed her back to health. As soon as she was able, she came and went in the workshop for a few weeks, and Leonardo named her Alcina for the strength and stubbornness she showed. That was just before she completely disappeared one day.

It had been pure chance that Leonardo found her again weeks later, hunting for food along his street. He had attempted to coax her back into the workshop, but she had refused all his advances. He settled for taking one of his unusable boxes, one that had a corner broken off, filled it with hay, and placed it not far from his home. Leonardo fed her every day, keeping an old wooden dish by the box.

Leonardo had been surprised to hear the tiny mewling of kittens one morning, but Alcina had scratched at him when he tried to feel inside the box. He left her alone for a few days, leaving food but not staying to keep her from getting too nervous. When she came out of the box on the fifth morning, the new mother finally allowed Leonardo to carefully inspect her litter. She appeared stressed, moving from him and back to the box before he'd even drew close. Unfortunately, Leonardo found the cause all too quickly – one of Alcina's kittens, a tiny chocolate brown one, had died.

Leonardo had carefully taken the dead kitten away, burying it in the courtyard next door. The next two days had her repeating the same motions, but mostly due to her worry over the now missing kitten. The third day, she seemed much calmer and he found that she had placed a ragged, dark cloth in with the kittens. Alcina seemed indignant every time he took her "adoptions" away, but the process continued off and on for a week.

Leonardo gently ran a hand over Ezio. He had not expected to find his friend in such a state, much less adopted by his cat. He could see why Alcina had taken Ezio, the assassin's hair being very close to the coloring of her lost kitten. She had reacted much the same as the other times he took one of her surrogate kittens, and yowled at him from her position in front of the closed door. He'd learned the first few times to find the small entrances Alcina had used to enter the workshop and close them off so she wouldn't trash the room in her attempts at retrieving her "kitten." He'd learned the hard way the first few times, and lost a nearly completed painting because of her. Thankfully, the mother cat had apparently given up, as Leonardo couldn't hear her anymore.

"You always come to me with new puzzles to solve, Ezio. But this one definitely will take a while." Ezio merely turned underneath his hand, mumbling incoherently in his sleep.

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**4 ** - Hunger

Ezio woke, stomach gnawing and growling at him. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes and brushing his hair out of his face. He blearily looked around, confused at the odd angles around him. One ear flicked.

That made him freeze. His ears should not flick. Ezio's hands came up, trembling, and felt the odd extensions on the top of his head. He closed his eyes, groaning. He'd so hoped that it was a bad dream. Another growl reminded him that it had been a long time since breakfast the previous day.

"One thing at a time. First, I need to dress."

Ezio crawled out from under the soft cloth, looking around for his clothing. He frowned. He wasn't looking forward to putting on the dirty assassin's robes, but it was the only clothing he had. He spotted the outfit laid out near the edge of the workbench, and he padded over.

The clothes were slightly damp, and clean. Ezio's eyebrows shot up. Leonardo must have washed them. Sending a silent thanks to his friend, Ezio dressed. The tail provided a brief problem, for while the outfit had shrunk with him, it didn't automatically cut and sew itself to accommodate the new appendage. His pants rode extremely low on his hips as a result. Ezio was thankful for the full shirt that covered the evidence of the ill fitting pants.

"This will take some getting used to," he mumbled, tugging at the waist.

Feeling somewhat normal, Ezio began looking around for his friend, and perhaps something to eat. He couldn't see Leonardo anywhere, but there was some bread lying on the a table. His ears perked up, tail wagging slightly - until he realized that the table was across the room. Ezio frowned as he paced the workbench, eyes glued to the bread, fluffy tail flicking from side to side. He moved to the side of the workbench, eyeing the table leg. It seemed to have enough handholds for him to climb down, so Ezio carefully began his decent.

Grinning to himself as he safely made it to the floor, Ezio quickly crossed the room and circled around the table legs. This one would be a little more difficult, as a cloth was draped over the top, meaning it wasn't a straight shot like it had been with the workbench. He decided on the side that had the least bit of overhang, and began the climb. Ezio's miscalculation came from assuming that there was only one cloth, and that it was a full piece draped across, and when he leapt from the table leg to grab hold of the fabric, there was a terrifying sensation of free fall and the clatter of metal and wood above him. He heard a shout, but it didn't register above the pounding in his ears.

He landed hard, and barely had time to register the debris that had fallen with him. He was half buried under the cloth he had yanked down, clearly a rag Leonardo used when painting, stained with bright colors. Metal clashed around him, pallet knives and brushes clattering. He curled in on himself, tail tucking in between his legs as he tried to make himself as small as he could. It felt like hours to Ezio as he lay trembling underneath the weight of the scattered paint tools.

Hands were on him then, pushing the art supplies away and picking him up. A whine strangled out as he was felt over for injuries. Fear still gripped him and as his limbs were carefully nudged away from his chest, he latched onto a finger.

"Ezio. Ezio, you need to let go." Another whine, and he heard a sigh. "I need to check to make sure you're not hurt."

"N-nn-no, I'm ff-fine," he managed to stammer, "I-I'm not hurt, Leonardo."

"You're sure?"

Ezio nodded frantically, the tightness in his chest finally beginning to loosen. He opened his eyes and smiled weakly at the blonde. Leonardo stared at him for a minute longer before moving back to the workbench. Ezio slowly released his death grip on the inventor's hand, and found himself deposited back on his "bed."

"What exactly were you trying to do, Ezio?"

Ezio fidgeted under Leonardo's gaze, eyes flicking around the man to the food still undisturbed across the room. A loud growl from his stomach answered the question for him, before he could even open his mouth to reply. The blonde stared a moment more before a smile twitched into existence on his mouth.

"Ah. You're hungry." Ezio nodded sheepishly. Leonardo turned, walking back to the entrance and a bag he had dropped in his haste. He also swung by the table where the assassin had nearly killed himself, and brought the bread over. Ezio scooted closer, climbing off the box, as the inventor pulled some cheese and tomatoes out of the bag. He broke off a slice of the bread and corner of the cheese. Ezio practically snatched the offered food from the blonde, hunger overriding manners as he wolfed them down.

"Slowly, Ezio! You do not want to choke!" There was laughter though, as Leonardo moved away to find a knife to cut the tomatoes with.

Ezio tried, but he couldn't help himself. He could hear Leonardo rifling on one of the tables, metal clattering as he searched. Halfway through the cheese, a small piece of tomato was offered, as well as a tiny metal cup of water. He took both, giving the cup a surprised glance. It was more a hammered bowl than cup, and he wondered if Leonardo had just made it.

"When did you get this, Leonardo?"

"I thought you should have some things that were suited to your new size, until we can fix this. I'll have something better for you later."

A glance at the table the blonde had been at confirmed his guess. A hammer and random shining scraps were scattered across the surface, a few "imperfect" attempts discarded to the side. Ezio shook his head, wondering if he'd end up with a whole set of miniature furniture and dishes before he changed back.

"It is not necessary, Leonardo. This will work just fine."

"Hmmm..." Ezio looked up from the last bit of tomato he had, knowing just what he'd see. Sure enough, Leonardo was at one of his worktables, sketching on a piece of paper and fiddling with small pieces of wood and more scrap metal. Ezio sighed.

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_Notes_: Alcina means strong willed, if the name website I used is correct.


	2. Chapter 2

**5 ** - Sun

So far, nothing Ezio or Leonardo did with the Apple had any effect on his current state. It hadn't even reacted to him when he placed his hands on the smooth golden surface. Sighing, the assassin flopped down on the improved bed Leonardo had provided him with. As Ezio had predicted, the inventor had produced him with a whole set of miniature items. The bed, chair and table were impressive enough – built out of scrap wood perhaps, but looking like small pieces created by the finest craftsman - but the dishes were even more so. They were sculpted and hammered from pieces of metal and buffed until they shone mirror bright. His "room" was a cleared space on one of the bookcases that lined the wall. It was the area least likely to be overtaken by one of Leonardo's projects, and could be hidden with a false box front when Leonardo's models came to the workshop.

The artist had left to get supplies for one of his many inventions, and Ezio wondered if the man would remember to get food. He'd found in the week of being here that his friend had a tendency to forget the essentials when he was excited about this or that material that would improve his designs or art.

It was sunny outside, and Ezio wished he could leave the workshop. But until this condition of his was fixed, that option was not available to him. Leonardo was right that he had been lucky to be found by that mother cat. If it had been a normal stray...the small assassin shuddered at the possibility.

Boredom was forcing the small assassin to wander around. There was a ladder that the blonde had attached to the shelves, but it only reached to the ground. Leonardo placed it there to keep Ezio from a repeat of the first day of his stay there. While the assassin was touched by the other's concern, he avoided using it. It was more satisfying to climb the bookcase without aid, and the grain of the wood was deep enough to provide him with good handholds. At least good enough to leverage himself up to grasp the next shelf.

Glancing at the entrance, not wanting Leonardo to find him halfway up the shelf, Ezio swung himself to the side of the bookcase and began his climb. He reached the top of the tall shelving, and basked in the warmth of the light streaming in from the windows above. Ezio frowned at the top of the shelf, though. As with everything else in the workshop, the top of the bookcase was cluttered with supplies.

A basket was to his left, and a fluttering white shape caught his attention. The basket was roughly woven, thick reeds darkened with age, giving the small assassin easy handholds to the top of the large container. He swung a leg over and couldn't help but stare at what the basket contained.

Feathers. Of every shape, size and color. He slid down, settling in the fluffy material. The feathers had a pleasant, dusty smell, and were sun-warmed. Ezio carefully crawled forward to the center of the pile, flopping back as he took in the bright sky through the windows. He wondered briefly why Leonardo would have so many feathers saved. Was he studying them? They were far to small to be used as a quill pen, and while soft, were not suitable for making pillows.

With the warmth of the sun and the plush, airy feeling of feathers surrounding him, Ezio drifted off with a contented sound.

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"Ezio?"

The assassin stirred slightly at the sound of his name, mumbling and rolling over. The sun had shifted, but the basket was still fully in the light from the window. There was a scrape of something against stone, and Ezio blinked blearily at the red hat that appeared over the basket's edge.

Leonardo was staring at him, and a part of Ezio knew that he should be saying something, apologizing for something, but he couldn't quite grasp what for. He was warm and comfortable, and with another murmur he rolled fully onto his stomach. The tail twitched, wagging back and forth lazily. He could hear a snort as sleep claimed him again.

"Perhaps you are more a cat, my friend, despite those canine ears and tail showing otherwise."

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**6 ** - Pain

Ezio woke feeling cold. The feathers around him helped retain some heat, but the sun was gone, the sky beyond the window black. He could hear rain pattering against the panes and he wondered how the day had gone from beautiful to miserable. He wondered if Leonardo managed to get back in before the rain hit.

The assassin climbed up the inside of the basket and peered over the side. The room would have been dark, but for the dim glow from the dying coals in the fireplace. Not only had Leonardo returned, but it appeared that he had already retired for the night. Ezio frowned and carefully crawled to the dim edge of the bookshelf. It wouldn't be the first time he made a blind climb down from a height like this, his missions often requiring him to edge back into the alleys that were pitch black before he could make his way safely and discreetly down from the rooftops.

He climbed down to the floor and began to carefully pick his way through the furniture towards Leonardo's chambers. Before he got halfway across the workshop, something made him pause underneath a workbench, hairs on the back of his neck rising and ears flattened back.

He could hear something. Something was slowly, deliberately stalking around the edge of the room. A low growl was rumbling out of him, and Ezio took a step back as something swiftly passed by the fireplace. A sleek form briefly silhouetted against the dim embers, and it was large.

He couldn't see where it had gone. Ezio took another step back, hands clenching and tail nearly tripping him as it curled in between his legs. He had gotten used to the thing aiding his balance and to suddenly have it not swaying behind him was jarring. There was a low hiss to his right and the assassin barely had time to prepare himself something collided with him. Pain lanced through Ezio's shoulder, the creature above him digging claws in.

He cried out and then again as something bit down into his leg. There was a clattering noise from further in the room, a harsh hissing yowl as another form barreled forward. The other shape tore Ezio's attacker off him, and he weakly sobbed as the claws were forced off of him. He lay there, dimly registering the snarling forms grappling nearby.

A door opened, light from a candle blinding him. Ezio could hear footsteps swiftly moving by, watched the feet move swiftly past the workbench. He heard a yowl and a low curse from Leonardo. More hissing and more footsteps, a door opening and something being thrown out. The door slammed shut.

Something was hovering over him, paws settling on either side of his body. The small assassin whimpered, weakly trying to roll over and felt one paw gently settle on him. He could feel hot breath on the back of his neck, teeth sinking into his clothes and he cried out as he was lifted. The legs of the table were swiftly moving by, painfully swinging back and forth, and he could see that they were quickly approaching a low opening that had been previously covered by a large crate. The large box looked like it had been worked aside just enough for something to crawl its way through.

"L-leon-ardo-!"

"E-ezio? Ezio! No! Wait! Stop, Alcina!"

The shouts were fading behind, muffled briefly by the box and then the wall as he found himself outside. The rain was cold, and he began to shiver as he was carried from Leonardo's home.

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Err...This somehow got all angsty on me. Don't worry, Ezio will be fine! I just figured you guys would want to see an update and this was all I was able to whip out for tonight. Hopefully it won't take me quite so long to post the next part!


	3. Chapter 3

**7 ** - Fever

He woke to feeling cold. The surface he lay on was hard and the chill from it seeped through his wet clothes and straight into his bones. He could hear light mewlings from far away, something curiously prodding at him before being chased away by a rumbling hiss. Warmth settled around him, pulling him closer to something soft. Ezio whimpered as pain lanced through his shoulder and leg.

Those were the only points on his body that weren't freezing. Heat radiated off from them, and he clutched at his shoulder, twitching and sobbing as something wet and rough swept over the mangled cloth of his pants, stinging against the inflamed wound. The process continued, switching from simply licking over the injuries and carefully swiping at his ears, tail and anywhere there was a bare spot of skin. The treatment was waking him up, the fuzzy feeling in his head withdrawing a bit.

Ezio hadn't dressed fully the previous day due to the warm weather making the workshop unbearable in his usual attire, opting for only his tunic, pants and boots. The bloodstained shirt was now hitched up, and he dully wondered if it would be better to just discard the ruined clothing. But, no, the mother cat seemed to like to carry him like one of her own, and those teeth would certainly not be pleasant on bare skin.

The mewing from the corner grew closer and a pile of warm bodies were tumbling and settling around Ezio. He twitched, and struggled weakly, startling when something bumped against his head. He opened his eyes with effort and found a calico kitten staring down at him, paw lowering carefully and batting at his flattened ears again. The large form above him gave another hiss, but this time the kitten was not deterred.

The spotted kitten wormed her way in next to the injured assassin, and placed her paws around his head. A small tongue swept over his ears as the other kittens also took interest in what their sister had found. Ezio groaned both from the pain and resignation at the kittens now taking their cue from the mother cat.

Ezio felt the large paws carefully disengage from the pile now around him, the kittens closing the gap and nuzzling against him. The assassin felt himself now laying partially on one of the orange kittens, another tongue swiping at the back of his neck and down his injured shoulder. Ezio jerked with a cry, and wished they would just leave him alone.

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The next time Ezio woke, it was to the higher pitched purring surrounding him. He was warm, finally warm but now it seemed too much. His head felt three times its normal size, and everything ached. He twitched, and attempted to push himself up. Ezio's arm shook with the effort, the other a flair of agony when he put pressure on it.

Cold sweat trickled down the side of his face and his neck. His shirt was soaked in places, clinging to his fevered body. He finally managed to prop himself up against one of the fuzzy bodies surrounding him, and carefully pulled his leg up to assess the damage. Ezio frowned at the sticky dried mess of torn cloth and skin. It was a ragged cut down the length of his lower leg, and it was deep. The skin was a harsh red, and throbbed with each pulse of his heart.

The assassin stared at the wound, a hand carefully prodding around the edges and picking what cloth he could out of the injury. He had dressed his own wounds before, but the tiny man was having trouble remembering what he should do through the fever that still wracked his body. Finally, Ezio settled for shimmying out of the pants, gasping as the blood began to flow again from where the cloth ripped free. He tore the length of the other pant leg into strips and slowly began to wrap the wound. His hands trembled and vision blurred as he fought against the pain.

Once done, Ezio sagged back and wrapped his hand against his shoulder, gripping it tightly and panting. He must have blacked out, for the next thing he knew was he was settled back on the chilly floor, kittens wandering around him. He was cold and curled in on himself, tail tucking between his legs. Tiny paws settled on him, and warmth spread across his back. Ezio rolled over as best he could in the kitten's embrace and saw the tiny calico, feeling her nuzzle affectionately against his head. He curled into that warmth with a sigh, listening to the hungry mewlings of the kittens, dazedly wondering when the mother cat would return.

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**8 ** - Worry

He wasn't eating. She nuzzled against him, trying to get her kitten to either suckle or take in the kill she had brought in. Why wasn't he eating? He needed to, her kitten was hurt, and he wouldn't get better if he didn't get his strength back. The kitten in question was huddled next to her pretty one, his dark spots of fur a sharp contrast to the bits of white and tawny orange in the colorful patchwork fur he was huddled against.

She'd found him. He'd gone away, so soon after her litter had been born. She had found things similar to him to place with her other offspring, so they wouldn't feel the loss as much as she. Dark things, soft things – each taken by the not-cat. She had been saved by that not-cat, feeding her and taking away the hurt she had gained from one of her suitors. And when she left, the tall being brought her a place to make a nest, a safe place to have her kittens. He brought his hunts and shared them with her while she took care of her own.

So when he took those replacements she brought in for her litter, she resented him for taking those replacements at times. But the not-cat was also kind, and the hunts he brought in after taking those things were always more delicious than the rest. The not-cat's kills had given her the energy to provide good, strong milk for her kittens. Made them stronger faster, strong enough for her to leave them for short periods to search for her lost one.

And how happy she'd been when she finally found him, dark and tiny in an alley, wrapped in the strange soft things the not-cats made. She had been so angry with the not-cat at taking him away again, locking her out of the den so she couldn't take her kitten back. And then for days hearing her kitten move around in the den the not-cat slept in. She had managed to get to a window, saw her kitten running around inside, and then napping in a nest of hunt feathers. That night she began working her way through one of her entrances to the den. The box was heavy, and it took her several more days to shift it aside.

She thought she'd been careful, sneaking to the entrance from a different direction each time. But apparently one of her previous suitors, a mangy, starved thing of a cat, followed her to the den with the intent of hunting for food. She had smelled him, his scent on the entrance as soon as she got close, and had leaped through the opening, wriggling through just in time to see her kitten pinned and hurt by the other.

The fight had been viscous, as was always her way. There was etiquette even among the strays, rules that were laid out by the strongest of them on the streets, but she was never one to follow the rules. Especially with one who she had to constantly drive off from her kills and keep from hurting her kittens.

The not-cat had interrupted before she could truly beat her former suitor, and the resentment against the tall, gold being grew even more. But her kitten had been hurt, he had whined in pain. She took him, the need to flee the den had been strong. He was not safe at the not-cat's den. So she had carefully carried him out even as the not-cat had shouted at her.

She was forced to relocate her litter. The nest was too easily accessible by the tall being, and she didn't want him to steal her kitten away again. She left her kitten in a run down building, gaining access through the crumbling wall. She'd found it while she had been sneaking into the not-cat's den, fully intending to move there anyway, the nest would not be big enough for her litter before too long. There was plenty of room here for all of them.

But now worry was making her rub her head against her kitten. He was panting, eyes shut tight and trembling. Her pretty one shifted closer to the tiny, hurt kitten. She pushed the pretty one to the side, earning a mewl of protest, and wrapped herself around him again. She bathed his head, wishing he would eat.

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**9 ** - Found

He hurt. He hurt and was hungry, thirsty, cold. But he didn't understand what was going on, couldn't gather the strength to even lift his head to look around. He could hear a worried chirping above him, and was carefully lifted and deposited in a warm pile. He burrowed down into the heat as best he could. The warmth shifted around him, wrapped around him and he sagged back with a sigh. He didn't want to hurt anymore.

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Leonardo had taken to wandering the streets around his home, hoping for a sighting of Alcina. The cat was smarter than he had given her credit for, having moved her entire litter so he couldn't take Ezio back. She knew he'd check her nest there, and obviously knew that she couldn't hide Ezio from him and keep taking care of her kittens at the same time.

The inventor felt like he was going in circles, doubling back on each street, hoping that he'd simply overlooked an area. Alcina couldn't have taken Ezio far. She couldn't risk the kittens being found if they were left alone for too long. So it had to be close. But the alleys were surprisingly bare, not one area had suitable cover for a mother cat, her kittens, and one tiny, transformed assassin.

Finally, Leonardo settled down on a bench, lowering his head into his hands. It had been a few days since Alcina had made off with Ezio. The blood underneath his worktable was Ezio's, if the brief glimpse of the assassin had been any indication. The amount was worrisome, and Leonardo's knowledge of the body wasn't helping his worry. Ezio was hurt, more than likely now sick or feverish from his wounds and the blood-loss, and Alcina probably keeping him close. Keeping him from getting help.

He stared at the building across from him, eyes not registering the movement of people around him, of the abandoned building and its crumbling walls. Crumbling walls...? Leonardo blinked, standing quickly and moving through the flow of people to the building. He'd passed this place over and over within the last few days, never even thinking about it as a possible hiding spot. But then, it didn't seem like it had any entrance that he could see from this side.

He quickly began examining the side of the building, hoping that he could find some kind of entrance. There was a slight gap between the buildings, a tight fit, but Leonardo could push his way through. The artist found himself in what looked to be an old garden attached to the abandoned building, tiny and overgrown. The light was dim, the rooftops blocking much of the sun.

Hope blossomed inside him, as he was finally able to take in the wall. It was nearly listed completely to once side, a large crack what would be easy access for Alcina. And himself, if he was careful. Leonardo carefully squeezed his way through the crevice, wincing as bricks clattered loose to the floor.

The room he found himself in was dusty and devoid of any furniture. The hardwood floor was of a high material, though, as were the details on the walls and door. Leonardo wondered why the previous owners had to leave, standing still for a brief moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim light.

The door was ajar, and now Leonardo could see paw prints in the thick dust. Tiny prints along with larger ones. There were also smears across the dust, and the artist could just see in his mind the kittens running and stalking each other here. He quickly exited the room, and blinked. Whereas the previous room was empty, this one was scattered with broken furniture and boxes.

There was a faint mewing to his left, and he turned quickly, carefully picking his way through the mess. There were suddenly kittens all around him, nearly tripping him as he tried to not step on the tiny things. A thump behind him on one of the boxes made him jump. He heard Alcina's familiar meowing, and the cat jumped to his shoulder, nuzzling against his head. Before he could reach up and take hold of the cat, she leapt from her perch and wove her way through the maze of furniture.

Leonardo couldn't help but be reminded of the first time she had led him to where her kittens were, Alcina repeating the worried back and forth movements as he followed her. Worry was gnawing at him and he was terrified that the outcome would be the same. Finally, they came up to two forms lying underneath the broken staircase. Alcina was making low mewls and chirping sounds at the tiny bodies, and he saw one head lift. A calico, coloring so much like Alcina, gave a low purr and sat up. The second body was still on the ground, and Leonardo dropped to his knees next to Alcina.

He reached with a trembling hand, gently lifting his friend. Ezio whimpered, trembling with shock and fever, and Leonardo felt relieved tears spill down his face. Ezio was alive, but he needed help, and quickly. The assassin was only clothed in his loose, bloodstained shirt and undergarments, pants looking like they had been sacrificed to crudely bind the wound on his leg. The artist quickly patted himself down with his free hand, grateful to find a clean handkerchief on him. He wrapped the small assassin in the cloth, and cradled him carefully to his body to provide Ezio with heat.

Leonardo quickly stood and started for the door, and Alcina followed the artist, so close to his heels he feared tripping. He could hear the kittens behind them, mewing at the retreating mother cat. He made it to the room he had entered from, and as he turned to back his way carefully out of the hole in the wall, Leonardo could see Alcina firmly moving her kittens back into the other room.

He couldn't help but smile at her irritation as she finally managed to put the last kitten back and stared as she firmly shouldered the door closed. Alcina turned around as he finally made it outside and leaped through and onto him. She climbed up his body, and settled on his shoulder, chirping at him and at Ezio.

"Don't worry, Alcina," Leonardo murmured, once again shimmying through the tight space between buildings. "I'm going to help him."

Alcina merely made a low rumbling meow in response. He wondered briefly if she meant it as a threat if he didn't.

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Note: The story has a mind of its own! I've deviated from my original plot so much! What happened to the fluffy fic I intended on writing? *cries*


	4. Chapter 4

**10 ** - Repression

He slept and dreamed. Because the alternative was pain and hunger, fear and desperation. He wanted to hide, he wanted to just be left alone, didn't want the responsibilities anymore, didn't want the pain. More and more though, the reality outside his mind intruded on the happy dreams, built on the loss that never truly left him.

He shied away from those dreams, not wanting to see those that were most important to him falling to their death, with him unable to prevent it. The dreams twisted to him losing everyone he cared about, and he was unable to remember which was the nightmare and which was the truth.

He began to lock down everything, running from both dream and memory, taking refuge in the darkness. Nothing could hurt him there, and he didn't want to risk leaving the safety of that darkness for anything.

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Leonardo stared down at Ezio. The assassin was awake, lying still on the tinybed, but not looking at anything. Those golden eyes were unfocused, and the artist feared that his friend would never fully wake up anymore. Alcina was under the table, twining herself around his ankles and giving him frustrated noises and looks. He'd kept taking her off the workbench, as she'd merely made a nuisance of herself and got in the way as he changed Ezio's bandages.

The last few days had been touch and go. Leonardo had cleaned the wounds as best he could, stitching them up with the finest thread he could lay his hands on, and bound them to prevent more infection. Ezio had whimpered through the treatment, fever growing so high that Leonardo feared the worst. But after managing to get water and some broth into the injured assassin, Ezio had begun to recover. The fever eventually broke, and that was one worry gone.

Alcina had made use of that the time while he fussed over Ezio to relocate her kittens again. Leonardo despaired at ever being the sole owner of his workshop again. On the first night, the artist had woken up to a kitten staring at him, perched on his chest. He'd almost knocked the poor thing off of the bed as he sat up. He'd been forced to make them a bed, taking the feathers from the basket Ezio had fallen asleep in days previously, and made a pillow with scrap cloth. He reused the large basket and placed it in a corner of the workshop. Alcina then took it from there and firmly placed her kittens inside the bed, though they crawled right back out once she left them.

Alcina was obviously intending to keep her litter here if she couldn't take Ezio away. Leonardo wondered if he could live up to the trust the cat had with him. Clearly she wanted him to heal her adopted "kitten," but now, with Ezio not truly there, Leonardo wondered what he could do. The artist buried his face in his hands, struggling to regain control. His friend was still hurt, and he could only hope that with the body healing, so would the mind.

A thump reverberated through the table, and he dropped his hands to see Alcina climbing up onto the cluttered surface. The inventor made to grab her again, but she hissed at him, swiftly picking her way through the mess of medicine and gauze. Leonardo reached for her again, worried that the cat would do something to hurt Ezio accidentally. The cat gave him disgusted look, as if she could hear the thoughts babbling through his head, and curled herself protectively around the bed and Ezio. Leonardo watched as she began to purr, settling her head close to the tiny assassin.

"Ah. You just want to make sure he's fine, don't you?" Leonardo murmured, reaching a hand out and gently petting the overprotective calico's head. "Forgive me, little one. I know you're as worried as I am."

Alcina merely gave him another glare, and swept her tongue across Ezio's ear.

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**11 ** - Search

Leonardo sighed as he stared at the tiny calico sleeping on his chest. This seemed to be the new morning ritual of waking up to a kitten snuggled with or on him. The artist found that Alcina would place one with him whenever he managed to sit down, or after he went to sleep. And it was now more often than not the only calico out of her litter. The others were random shades of brown or orange, and Alcina kept those firmly with her when she went to sleep.

"I suppose I should name you, too."

The kitten merely twitched an ear before raising her head and yawning. She stared at him with her golden eyes before carefully standing and picking her way daintily to the pillow. The kitten snuggled down by his neck, high pitched purring thrumming against his skin. Leonardo sighed, glancing over to the table he'd placed by his bed. He'd taken to moving Ezio in here with him at night, so he could keep a better eye on the assassin's condition.

The tiny bed was empty.

Leonardo jerked upright, kitten hissing a startled protest at her main source of warmth leaving. Leonardo immediately dropped to his knees looking underneath the table and bed, worried that Ezio had rolled off in his sleep, or even worse, finally woken up and had climbed down stubbornly.

His search was turning up nothing, and found the kitten was watching him from over the edge of the bed as he sat up, her tail lashing from side to side. Leonardo rushed out into his workshop, not registering the failed pounce or the other mewed complaint, and nearly ran over to the basket where the cats were. Alcina was there, still curled protectively around her litter, fast asleep. No Ezio.

He could hear tiny mewing behind him. Leonardo turned, seeing a tiny spotted tail disappear behind the stacked canvases by the wall, all thankfully blank. He quickly walked over, blank or not, he didn't want that kitten to knock them over and possibly hurt herself. As the artist drew near, the mewing grew in volume. There was something else, a strange sound filtering through the kitten's noise, and Leonardo began carefully leafing through the canvases. Finally he located the calico, and stared at what she'd apparently pounced on.

Ezio was there, hair mussed and dusty...and struggling in the kitten's grasp. She looked up at Leonardo's dumfounded expression, and mewed proudly at him. Ezio continued to squirm as the artist set aside the canvases, kneeling next to the two. He reached a hand out, intending on pulling them apart, but froze at the strangled sound Ezio made. The tiny assassin managed to pull free of the kitten, scrambling back from Leonardo, eyes wide and panicked.

Something wrenched in Leonardo's chest, not seeing any recognition in his friend's golden eyes. Ezio had scooted back as far as he was able, huddled in the corner made up by the wall and canvas. His movements were stiff, the bandages on his leg and shoulder hindering the assassin. The small dark ears were flattened tightly back against Ezio's hair, tail tucked in between his legs as he still tried to shift further back.

"Ezio? Ezio, it's alright."

Ezio merely whimpered, eyes shutting tight as Leonardo carefully lifted the assassin. The tiny body in his hands trembled, breathing fast and hard with fear.

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**12 ** - Blank

He couldn't remember. He was hungry and hurt, and couldn't remember who he was. Everything was enormous, and he knew that wasn't right, that he shouldn't be so tiny. But he couldn't remember what was normal, either.

He was currently buried underneath soft cloth, not wanting to see the towering being hovering above him. He could hear mewing, and something batted the fabric away from his head. He flinched, but looked up anyway, eyeing the patchwork creature that stared at him. She was the reason that the large golden being had found him, and he growled at her, eyes narrowing. She merely batted at his head again.

It had been a lot of work getting down from that high spot, then more while he tried to keep hidden from the stomping being that had clearly been looking for him. He only wanted to find that comforting warmth that was the only memory he could recall. Warmth and a rumbling sound that settled the fear. The multicolored creature was similar, but far too small. She settled a paw between his ears, her higher thrumming similar to that memory, and it settled him a bit.

Didn't mean he forgave her for revealing him.

Something large settled on him, and he gave a yelp, struggling as he was picked up. He fought in the grasp, fear pumping through him, ignoring the pain in his limbs. Finally, he twisted and sank his teeth into pale flesh, satisfaction surging as he heard a sharp, startled cry. Unfortunately, the hold on him didn't loosen, and he found himself glaring into sad, blue eyes.

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Leonardo winced at the sharp pain from Ezio sinking his teeth into his finger. He carefully cradled the small assassin in his palm, managing to not jerk his other hand away from those sharp teeth. He frowned through the pain. He couldn't remember Ezio's incisors being altered as well. Only the change had been in his ears and the addition of a tail. The worry began to grow even further, and he hoped this didn't mean that his friend would continue to shift until there was nothing human left.

Ezio merely glared at him, teeth sinking harder into his finger. Blood welled up, and Leonardo wondered how he was going to get the assassin to let go without hurting him. A loud meow echoed up from under the table, and the artist felt Alcina climb into his lap. He winced as her claws scratched at his bare leg before she managed to grab hold of his loose nightshirt. He dimly thought that he really should have dressed properly, rather than just sitting here in his workshop in his nightclothes. But there hadn't been any time to spare. Ezio would more than likely have run and hidden himself again once his back was turned.

Alcina's head lifted above the edge of the table, leaning two paws against it and brining her head level with the tiny assassin. She gave another meow at Ezio. The assassin jumped, teeth releasing from Leonardo's finger. Ezio stared at the calico, golden eyes wide. Alcina jumped fully onto the table, Ezio's gaze never leaving the cat as she circled around Leonardo's hands.

Leonardo pulled his hand back, briefly sucking on the injured finger. He watched as Alcina purred, rubbing her head against Ezio. Ezio responded by reaching up and fisting his hands in the fur, burying his face into the cat's neck. Leonardo's hand trembled under his friend, eyes blurring with tears. He carefully set Ezio back down on the pile of cloth he'd been using as a makeshift bed for the assassin, Alcina moving with him. She once again wrapped herself around Ezio, and the assassin shifted as close as he was able into the patchwork fur.

The artist sagged back into the chair, head tipping back as he pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. The tears threatened to slip free, but he held them back. Having a breakdown was not going to help him or Ezio. His friend wasn't reacting like he normally would, joking and trying to downplay how injured he was. Ezio hadn't said a word since he'd picked him up from the floor and placed him on the table, and then how the assassin had reacted when he'd been picked up again. Just like any feral animal would when they were frightened and cornered.

"What is happening to you, Ezio?" the artist whispered, his mind already coming up with various theories.

Something plopped into his lap, and Leonardo looked down to see the calico kitten staring up at him, paws kneading into his stomach. She mewed at him, and he settled a shaky hand on her head. He glanced up to see Ezio slack against Alcina in sleep. The mother cat purred and settled around the assassin even more. She gave the artist what he could only take as a satisfied expression. Clearly, she considered the fact that Ezio was moving a clear success.

He carefully picked up the kitten, standing shakily. Leonardo allowed the small creature to climb up to his shoulder as he retreated back to his room. The kitten purred in his ear as she rubbed against his cheek. The artist managed a weak smile, gently rubbing a finger between the calico's ears. Leonardo deposited the kitten back on his pillow before turning and rifling through his clothes. He needed to dress and eat something before tackling this new problem.

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Note: This isn't getting any closer to a resolution, and I'm half afraid of what y'all are gonna think of what I did to Ezio. *cowers* It wouldn't leave me alone! And my muse!Ezio is glaring at me. T_T I think I know how he's gonna change back though. That's a plus.

I will name the kitten. I've already got one picked, but feel free to send me some ideas! (If you do, Italian only (obviously), and add in a meaning of the name.) Your name might be better than mine!


	5. Chapter 5

**13 ** - Purr

Leonardo repressed the urge to throw the Apple across the room. It had been another three days of him studying the Piece of Eden – three days of unsuccessful experimentation with an increasingly irritated Ezio. The Apple remained dark, and the artist had several more scratches and bite marks on his hands. The last few times Leonardo had finally succumbed to wearing gloves when picking up the assassin. Long gloves, as the assassin soon realized that biting leather did no good, and somehow managed to squirm into a position that allowed him to sink teeth into his arm. Leonardo sighed, leaning back in his chair.

Alcina at least was not attempting to keep Ezio away. She even started plopping the poor assassin into his lap like she would the calico kitten. It would have been amusing, if his friend was himself. Leonardo turned to stare at the kittens wandering around, Alcina stalking among them and keeping most of their antics down to a manageable level. Ezio sat on her back, hands fisted in her fur as he stared around in wide eyed curiosity.

The assassin's head turned, and gold eyes locked with his for a brief moment. Ezio's eyebrows wrinkled, but the expression didn't transform into the full scowl that Leonardo had been receiving of late. The artist wondered at the change. Maybe Ezio was getting used to him again?

"Well, this isn't getting me anywhere," Leonardo sighed, running a hand through his hair. He jumped when his stomach gave a loud growl, and a glance at the window showed that he'd used up much of the morning and afternoon without taking a break to eat.

Shaking his head, Leonardo stood and with kittens now coiling around his ankles, went to get food for them all. He quickly filled two bowls of food for the cats, setting one down near his workbench. Leonardo watched with amusement as the kittens nearly fell over themselves to get to it. Alcina received the other bowl, and Leonardo pulled the gloves from his belt and slid them on. He carefully lifted Ezio from Alcina's back, ignoring the yowl of protest and the attempted bite.

Carrying the assassin with him, still ignoring the noises Ezio was making, Leonardo quickly made a plate of food for himself. Leonardo sat back down at the workbench, setting the assassin down but still keeping a restraining hand on him. The last time, Ezio had nearly fallen off the table as he tried to run away. But the squirming was gradually decreasing, and Leonardo watched as his friend stared at the food before him. Leonardo couldn't help but smile, using his teeth to pull the glove off his free hand. He broke off a piece of bread and offered it to Ezio.

Ezio stared at the bread, eyes flicking back and forth between him and the offered food. His hand stretched out, hesitant and almost trembling, and the bread was snatched out of Leonardo's fingers. Leonardo smiled again, as the bread disappeared quickly, Ezio licking his lips. The tiny man's eyes flicked up to him, eyebrows scrunching again, and the artist could feel the body in his hand settle slightly. Leonardo offered another piece of bread and that too was snatched free of his hand.

The process continued, and Leonardo could feel the tenseness in Ezio slowly ease. He carefully loosened his hold on the assassin. Ezio gave him a startled look, halfway through a piece of tomato, and squirmed in place. Leonardo slowly lifted his hand away, ready to catch the assassin if he decided to bolt again. But Ezio merely settled back down, making what could only be classified as a happy purr as he was released.

Leonardo's smile faltered a bit. Throughout the last three days, Ezio had not spoken a word, not even uttering a curse at being handled during the artist's attempts to change him back with the Apple. He reached up carefully with his still gloved hand and carefully began to run one of his fingers along Ezio's ear. It earned him a twitch and a ducking of that dark head, as well as a suspicious look. He kept his hand still, not moving until the assassin grew accustomed to the hovering hand. Ezio slowly straightened, eyeing Leonardo warily.

Running a finger along the tiny ear again, Leonardo smiled as this time Ezio didn't move. In fact, he sat there as still as he could, and when Leonardo began to rub gently against the ear, the assassin's eyes slid shut. Leonardo increased the pressure slowly, and Ezio began to arch into the touch, purring once more.

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**14 ** - Change

The large being wasn't that bad, he reasoned. It was warm, and gave him food. And rubbed against his ears in just the right spots. Now if he could just get it to stop picking him up. But he had to admit, the height didn't bother him. In fact it was rather exhilarating to be so high up. The large being was currently stalking around the table, and he yawned growing bored with watching it circle around, muttering to itself.

He wondered why the large thing had to hold him so much. He didn't understand, and there was a part of him that wanted to. He felt lonely, while the other furry creature was comforting and safe, he couldn't understand it. The little one was the same, and he barely tolerated the other ones. The two nearly identical creatures, with their patchwork fur, were the only ones he wanted to be around and he couldn't talk with them. He could make the same noises, and could produce the same rumble deep in his throat, but...

But it wasn't the same. He wasn't the same, not like he'd thought. He thought he was like them, and for a while he'd been happy. But the last time that the large being had held him with that strange gold thing, he'd saw something reflected on it. And it looked like him...maybe was him? It felt like that was right, that he'd been looking at himself on the round surface. How he knew, he wasn't certain, but it had made him think. The strange golden orb was sitting next to him, and he couldn't help but turn to look again at his reflection.

He didn't look like the little creatures, the mini versions of the larger one that purred at him. But he looked like the large being...at least somewhat. That one didn't have the ears or tail, and there was definitely a size difference, but he looked much closer to that large one nonetheless. Maybe he would eventually get bigger? Would that mean he would get bigger and his ears and tail would go away? That thought was unsettling.

He gently laid a hand on the shiny surface of the orb, and jumped as light seemed to flicker through it. He couldn't look away at the strange light, and could hear the muttering behind him immediately stop. He made to pull away, but found that he no longer could move. Fear began to curl in him. He didn't like this, why couldn't he move? A whine strangled out.

"What? Why-!"

The light flashed, and he would have jerked away if he'd been able to move. There was a startled shout behind him and the strange gold orb flickered again, the only warning before another flash of light blinded him. His body felt tight, and there was a roaring in his ears before everything went dark.

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Leonardo stared at the limp form lying across his table. A part of him wanted to snatch up the Apple, study it, shake it, try to understand what it was that had happened differently that caused the change. But Ezio was sprawled across the table, and Leonardo needed to help him first.

"Oh, Ezio," the blonde whispered, carefully settling his hands on his friend and gently rolling the limp body over. The Apple worked wonders, but Leonardo couldn't help but wonder why it only had taken the change to this point. Ezio was bigger, yes, but his size was now correctly proportioned to that of a five or six year old, and the ears and tail were still present. Leonardo gently smoothed back the dark hair away from his friend's face, watching as eyelids fluttered and slowly cracked open.

"Ezio? Ezio, can you hear me?" He hoped that with the change, also came awareness. Those gold eyes stared blankly up at him, and Leonardo began to worry more. "Ezio, please, tell me you can hear me. Tell me that you know me."

Ezio blinked, finally focusing on the artist before jerking away with a cry. The assassin whined, scrambling away, and Leonardo desperately grabbed at him before Ezio would go over the edge of the table. He missed.

Ezio landed hard on the other side, and Leonardo could hear the kittens in the room scatter as the assassin whimpered and cried in pain. The artist found himself kneeling at Ezio's side, gently scooping up the small body into his arms. The now-turned-child assassin clutched at his arms, burying his face into the material of Leonardo's doublet.

"...Ezio?"

All he got was a whimpered mewl in response.

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**Notes**: Only two parts right now. I'm slowly getting to the end here. *totally distracted by the AC kink meme right now* I've got three other fic I'm trying to develop for that meme, and one still in edit mode for that big bang.

You have no idea how happy I am that I was able to get these out. *passes out from lack of sleep*


	6. Chapter 6

**15 ** - Recovery

"Ezio! Ezio, please come down!"

The large being – actually it wasn't as large now as it had been earlier – was pacing below him, clearly agitated. He didn't pay much attention to it though. Now that he was bigger, he found that he could get up much higher than when the large being picked him up. It was a wonderful feeling to be so high up, and here were so many things to climb on. Really, if the large being didn't want him to climb, why did he have so many interesting things up here?

A mewling erupted from the cloth that the large being had put on him. He pawed at it and a kitten's head popped up out of the top opening. He frowned briefly, ears flattening back. Kitten? Where did that come from? Was that what the little creature was called? It felt right. He shrugged, and turned his attention to the kitten now climbing onto his shoulders. She mewing curiously at the new surroundings, pawing at the wood and cloth around them. The light filtering in through the thin cloth made everything have a strange yellowish hue. He lifted the kitten from his shoulders and cuddled her to his chest. She purred at him and nuzzled under his chin.

"Ezio—!" He glanced down at the large being, wondering why it kept making the same noise over and over. The golden being had stopped its frantic circling, and was standing there with its arms crossed. Blue, irritated eyes were boring into him, and he felt something twist inside. He didn't like that feeling. He murmured to the kitten, gently rubbing his head against hers.

When he looked down from his perch, the large being was gone. A startled whine escaped, ears pressed so flat that they were nearly invisible against his head, and he felt the unsettling sensation of panic take over. Where did he go? He...he was always close by, blue eyes watching him carefully whenever he did something. The whine grew in volume and he tightened his hold on the kitten. She hissed in protest, now squirming in his arms.

He mewed back in apology, and carefully placed the kitten back into the cloth he wore. A leg swung out, and slowly he climbed down, wincing as the kitten dug her claws into skin. He ignored it, only wanting to get back to the floor. He wanted to find him, absolutely needing to reassure himself that the other hadn't completely left. He didn't want to be alone...

Finally he'd made it to the floor, and the kitten, tired of being carried in the stuffy cloth, squirmed up and and back onto his shoulder. He once again pulled her down and cuddled her to his chest as he began searching the room. The larger kitten – no, that wasn't right...cat? The cat curled around his ankles, and he bent down to also scoop her up. She purred at him, half pulling herself up to rest her forepaws on his shoulder.

He found the large being at one of the tables, scribbling things down in one of those strange blank, bound things. One hand practically flew over the inside of the thing, spidery marks and patterns flowing onto the surface, while the other was resting almost absentmindedly on that gold orb. A growl escaped. He didn't like that thing. It made his head hurt, and didn't want his large being to be touching it.

A hand reached out and grasped onto the cloth that covered the other, and he tugged on it. Nothing, not even a twitch away from that orb. He tried again, tugging more forcefully, nearly spilling the kitten onto the floor. Again, nothing. Why was he ignoring him now? Did he do something wrong? Was it because he climbed up there and didn't come down when he was called?

"Hnnnnn~!"

He let go now, dropping the cat and kitten onto the floor. He turned and sprinted to the next room, burying himself into the pile of soft pillows and blankets that made up the nest he'd built in the corner.

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Leonardo blinked and turned just in time to see a dark tail whisk into his bedroom. He'd been so frustrated with Ezio after he'd climbed up to the top of his flying machine, and had finally come to the decision to leave the assassin alone for a while. He'd come down after a while, and Leonardo needed to continue studying the Apple so he could change Ezio back. So he'd retreated further into the workshop, and returned to his examination of the Piece of Eden.

He slowly stood, stretching out of the hunched position he'd acquired while writing in his journal. Leonardo had finally managed to get a reaction out of the Apple, the orb flickering lightly in his hand. And while the Apple had begun to show him strange images and impossible things, things that Leonardo couldn't help but want to record what he could in his journal, there was nothing that even related to fixing Ezio.

The artist shook his head and headed into the bedroom, knowing that he'd been too caught up in what the Apple had been showing him to register Ezio trying to get his attention. The boy was nearly always underfoot, and he felt slightly guilty for ignoring him the way he had. The room was messy, more so than usual. The bed had been stripped of its covers and pillows, the items in question shoved into the far corner by the window. A dark tail was twitching lightly from underneath one of the blankets, the only part of Ezio that Leonardo could see. He wondered when the assassin had the time to drag everything over, having been in the workshop for most of the day. Leonardo shrugged and quickly crossed the room to kneel by the nest.

A low whine was filtering through the many layers of cloth, and Leonardo gently lay his hand on the mound the tail led into. The lump twitched, and the dark swaying tail froze. Leonardo began carefully pulling the blankets up and off, an oversized pillow the last layer hiding Ezio from view. Two hands gripped the pillow tightly, and the distressed whine once again reached Leonardo's ears. The pillow was gently tugged on, but Ezio refused to relinquish his grip on it.

"What's the matter, Ezio?" Leonardo asked, hoping his voice would coax the assassin out from hiding. He carefully tugged on the pillow again and could hear something strangled out from Ezio, a strange muffled noise against cloth. "Ezio, please, let me see you. Did you hurt yourself? Is that it?"

"Hnnn..."

"Ezio," Leonardo nearly bit out, frustration at the entire situation winding his nerves even tighter. He let out an explosive sigh, and could feel the small body twitch. The brief tug of war had scooted Ezio further up in his "nest," dark head peeping out from under the pillow, ears twitching and swiveling briefly before pressing down flat against his head. Golden eyes peeked out at Leonardo, and the irritation bled right out of him. Those eyes were puffy and red – Ezio had been crying. The assassin twitched, breath hitching and hiccuping as he obviously tried to calm down.

"Why have you been crying, my friend?" Leonardo kept his voice low, hoping to help calm Ezio down. While the boy still didn't seem to understand him, Leonardo had found that the sound of his voice was usually enough to do the trick. He reached out to lay his hand between those dark ears, but Ezio jerked back. The child-assassin scooted further into the corner and buried his face back into the pillow, trembling. Leonardo froze like that for a brief moment before settling his hand on Ezio's head, carefully petting the ears and smoothing the tangled hair back.

"It's alright. Shh...shhhh..."

"...ssrr'y..."

It was such a quiet sound that at first Leonardo thought it to be nothing more than whimpers. But as the sound grew in volume, Leonardo couldn't help but stare at Ezio as the boy rocked back and forth.

"...sr'y—srry! So—rrryyy, soory!"

"Ezio-"

"Sorry, sorry-sorry-sorry-!"

Over and over, Ezio was apologizing and Leonardo quickly picked him up, pillow and all. He hugged his friend as the mantra of "sorry" spilled from Ezio's lips. Leonardo slowly rocked the bundle in his arms, pressing his face into the top of that dark head, murmuring comforting words into the hair, hoping the motions would help soothe whatever had caused the panicked reaction.

Finally Ezio calmed, and Leonardo pulled back, carefully coaxing the small form to look up at him. Those gold eyes were even more swollen and red, and Ezio blinked dazedly at him. The small body was twitching with every hitched breath, and Leonardo could see the exhaustion from the panic and crying begin to catch up with the boy.

"Ezio, do you understand me?" He had to ask, had to know if finally, finally his friend was recovering. Perhaps the effects of the Apple would simply wear off on their own? Leonardo could only hope that this would be the case.

"Ez–ez...zio?" Ezio mumbled, eyes drooping even further down. The questioning lilt to the name made Leonardo tighten his hold, but he nodded anyway.

"That's right. Ezio. That's your name."

"Ez-io. Im'm Ezio." The dark head sagged down even further. "S-sorry...'eo. Lrn-do..."

The ache that settled in his chest was a familiar one, but unlike the last several days, hope was also blooming there. Leonardo settled back into the corner he'd picked Ezio up out of, content to simply sit there while Ezio fell asleep. Things finally were beginning to turn towards the better.

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**16 ** - Transform

Ezio sighed as he sat on the bed, glaring at the closed door of the bedroom as he kicked his feet in irritation. Leonardo had locked him inside and he was bored. People had come, and the artist had rushed to hide him in the room. He could hear the titter of high pitched voices, combined with the deeper, familiar tone of his Leonardo. He wanted to be out there, out of the building in fact, and a low growl rumbled out of him. There was nothing he could do though. The windows had been bolted closed and the door of the bedroom was also bolted from the other side, and nothing Ezio did would make it budge. Not even a rattle.

The tiny calico kitten curled up on his lap was purring. Ezio sighed down at her.

"Leonardo's mean," he stated grumpily at the tiny thing. "I wanna go outside. Momma would've let me go outside. We always go for walks around now."

There were large gaps in his memory, but Leonardo had promised him that he'd remember everything eventually. He didn't like not remembering things, and he wondered why his family had left him here. Momma, Pappa and Federico had to have left him here because something happened and now he had these weird ears and tail. At least that's what he thought – Ezio couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten here at Leonardo's. The last thing he could remember was promising Momma and Pappa that'd he'd help Federico keep their new baby brother safe. But every time he thought about Pappa and Federico – even baby Petruccio – he felt like he wanted to cry. But he needed to be strong, because Federico had told him that boys had to be strong and not afraid of anything. He had to be because he now had two little siblings to look after.

"Leonardo says that I have to stay here, though," Ezio whispered, now hugging the kitten to his chest. "I think it's because Leonardo is gonna help me. He's really smart, and I think he's gonna make me better. That way I can go home, and then I can help Momma, Pappa, and Federico with Claudia and Petruccio. What do you think?"

The kitten mewed at him, before squirming out of his arms. She daintily walked up the bed to the pillow and settled down for a nap. Ezio stuck his tongue out at her. She wasn't any help. The door creaked as it opened, and Ezio jumped.

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Leonardo smiled as Ezio's head whirled around to lock on him, eyes wide. The boy gave a happy yip and leapt off the bed into his arms. The tail was swaying happily behind him, and the ears were perked high on that dark head. He hadn't meant to keep Ezio locked in the room for so long, but he'd been neglecting his work, and one of his clients had come in with the intent to either renegotiate their commission, or to completely cancel it. It had taken longer than he'd expected, but Leonardo had managed to calm the woman down. A new deadline had been set and hopefully he'd be either able to finish it before then, or manage to turn Ezio back to normal so his time wouldn't be split.

It didn't help that his friend had been providing him with whole ideas for completely different pieces of art, if somewhat unintentionally. Leonardo had whole sketchbooks that he kept hidden that were of his friend before his change, and now another one was being filled of this strange hybrid form Ezio was stuck in. The first half had been of when Ezio was still tiny, and now the boy was taking up the other. Ezio was especially endearing to sketch when he was sleeping.

Leonardo chucked as Ezio attempted to climb up his body. How in the world had his family dealt with bundle of energy? Though, if Ezio was this energetic, his brother Federico probably had been as well. But the thought of Ezio's family made him pause. Ezio couldn't remember anything past the years he was currently stuck at. In his mind, his parents and siblings were safe and waiting for him to return home. It was an unsettling thought, and Leonardo dreaded the moment Ezio's memories would resurface.

"Leonardo, can we go outside?" Ezio's question pulled Leonardo from his thoughts. He sighed internally, and knelt down at Ezio's level. Those golden eyes were wide and pleading, and the artist wished he could allow it.

"I'm sorry, Ezio, but we can't," Leonardo gently picked the boy up. The hopeful expression faded, and the artist felt a pang of guilt. He wanted nothing more than to let Ezio go out, but the chance that someone would see him in his altered state was too great a risk. Leonardo walked back into the workshop and carefully set Ezio down onto one of the workbenches. Alcina curled briefly around Leonardo's legs before leaping up onto the table to curl at Ezio's side. Her purring was loud and the boy stroked the contented cat's fur.

"I know you don't like to, but I'd like to try something with the Apple again," Leonardo started, smiling slightly at the grimace the child-assassin gave him. He quickly walked to the corner where he had hidden the Piece of Eden, and with a bit of rearranging, pulled the artifact from its place among his supplies. Leonardo had covered it with a soft rag, and he couldn't help but wonder what its creators would have thought about him hiding it the way he was. It was a tool, a very powerful tool, and keeping it hidden among his paint supplies and covered by a stained rag seemed wrong somehow.

"Do we have to? It makes my head itch."

The Apple glittered in the light and Leonardo set it down on the table next to the pouting boy. Ezio's ears were flat against his head, and the tail lashed behind him, scattering the few papers that were on the table. Alcina was now curled in the boy's lap, and Leonardo wondered briefly if she still considered Ezio to be her kitten. The young brunette was petting her nervously, and Leonardo pulled up a chair to the workbench.

"Ezio," Leonardo began, picking up the Apple and holding it between them, catching those golden eyes with his own blue ones. "This is the reason that you're like this. I've been studying it, and I hope to use it to change you back. I know you're tired of it, and I know that it makes you uncomfortable, but it is necessary. Please, it will only be a little longer, then you can be back to normal."

Ezio's gaze flickered to the Apple he held and back up, eyebrows scrunched in thought. The boy was silent for a few moments more, frowning as he pulled Alcina to his chest.

"It'll change me back?"

"That's what I hope, Ezio."

The frown deepened, but Ezio stretched a hand out to the Apple and laid his hand it. The Piece of Eden flickered briefly, before going dark again. Leonardo sighed; this was the usual reaction out of the Apple whenever Ezio happened to touch it. It was frustrating that the Piece of Eden was willing to show him those strange images, but the moment Ezio came into the picture, it was a pretty golden ball that occasionally would light up.

"What are we supposed to do?" Ezio sighed and scowled at the orb, the expression that was always intimidating on the adult form nearly cute on the young one. Leonardo sighed as he contemplated the boy, and watched as Ezio pulled Alcina up to cuddle deeper into his one arm.

Alcina mewed and squirmed out of Ezio's hold, her own eyes intent on the golden orb they still held between them. She leaned forward slowly and before Leonardo could draw the Apple away, the mother cat lifted a paw and batted at the Piece of Eden. Both Ezio and Leonardo jerked as light filled the workshop, blinding the two. Leonardo could hear a strange, loud whine in his ears, could dimly hear Ezio shouting through it, before everything went dark. The Apple hit the table with a crack.

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**17 ** - Excitement

She purred, content and ignoring the noisy protests her kitten was making below her. Despite how happy she was on how much her kitten had grown, he was a noisy thing. She looked down impassively from her spot on the shelf, nested comfortably in a pile of leftover canvas that the not-cat kept piled there.

Her kitten was even bigger now, and she felt a surge of pride over that fact. She'd been wrong, and clearly staying with the not-cat had been the best decision she could have made. Her kitten was glaring at her, gold eyes sparking with anger and ears laid back against the long, dark head-fur he had.

"Damn it, cat! I don't know how Leonardo ever tolerated you..."

She sniffed, not impressed with his little tantrum. Her kitten continued to scowl as he moved around the shelf and over to the wall. Her kitten's head poked up above the shelf, gripping both the wall and the shelf to give himself leverage to climb up. She gave him an irritated huff as now she'd have to move from her comfortable nest. She caught the tiny creature that was nestled between her paws by the strange cloth it wore, and carefully wove her way through the boxes and stacked baskets to the other end of the shelves.

"Hey! Get back here, Alcina!"

She continued to ignore him as she carefully gauged the distance from the top of the shelf to the floor, the tiny creature swinging gently in her hold. She leapt down, and heard her kitten make a strangled noise and heard him land lightly on his feet. Before she could whisk to a spot where her kitten couldn't reach her, she felt something grasp the fur at her neck and the ground drop out from underneath her feet.

"Gotcha!"

She squirmed in her kitten's hold, his firm grip on the scruff on her neck was almost uncomfortable. He carefully pried the tiny creature from her, and now that her mouth was free she yowled her displeasure at him.

"Oh, stop that. I'm not hurting you."

She found herself placed back into the nest the not-cat had made for her, kittens mewing around her and twining about her large kitten's legs. She met his golden eyed glare with her own, and firmly turned her back on him. She was happy that he was better, but sometimes he could be so stubborn. She only wanted to help the not-cat now that he was a kitten too.

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The cat was pouting. She had turned around in the bed and was clearly ignoring him now, kittens climbing and pouncing overtop of her. Ezio sighed and ran a hand through his hair, scratching behind one of his ears. He felt a little guilty, but then, he couldn't take the chance that Alcina would run off like she had with him. The tiny form in his hand twitched and moaned slightly. Ezio jumped and quickly moved to the table, pulling a chair close and carefully setting down his charge.

Ezio sighed as he sank into one of the plush chairs by the table, rolling his head in an attempt at alleviating the crick in his neck. He'd woken up to find himself sprawled across the table, head hung awkwardly over one edge and one numb arm flung over the other. Ezio dimly remembered talking with Leonardo, and something that had to do with the Apple, but nothing really before that. His last clear memory was of being pinned down by something much bigger than he was, then pain.

When he had pushed himself up from his sprawled position, Ezio had noticed a few things. He was much bigger for one, and a brief once over gave him the impression that he was once again a teenager. More like barely a teenager, at around twelve to fourteen. Maybe. Ezio knew he would need a mirror to be certain. Unfortunately, his added appendages were still there, as well as some more altered parts, like his teeth. The sharper canines had startled him, and running his tongue over one as harshly as he did nearly left him with a cut.

After assessing himself, Ezio had looked around for Leonardo, finally registering that the artist was nowhere to be seen. Which had been worrying, until he noticed something sprawled across the chair. Ezio remembered staring at the now tiny form of his friend, too stunned to really comprehend how changed Leonardo had become. Then Alcina had hopped onto the chair and darted off with the limp artist, resulting in a nearly catastrophic chase around the workshop. She'd taken refuge up on one of the shelves in the corner, and luckily Ezio had managed to catch her before she really could flee. Now said artist was slowly coming to, and Ezio didn't know exactly how to fix it. He didn't really know how Leonardo had managed to even get him to this state.

The artist groaned, rolling over onto his side before blinking blearily up at Ezio. Ezio managed a halfhearted smile at Leonardo, internally panicking over how they were going to deal with this new state of affairs. Leonardo frowned as he pushed himself up, running a hand through his blonde hair. The artist froze as his hands encountered his own changed ears.

"W-what in the world...?" Leonardo sat back hard, eyes wide and then flinched as he sat down on his own tail. "Oof! Oh, this is very strange..."

"Leonardo...?" Ezio managed, fidgeting as Leonardo slowly took in what happened to him, briefly staring up at Ezio with wide eyes, before returning to slowly assess the changes. Leonardo appeared to be more like a dog than a cat, unlike Ezio. His ears were fluffy flopped down into his hair, blending nearly perfectly into the blonde strands. His tail, also quite fluffy, was slowly beginning to wag as the artist truly began to wake up and realized what had happened.

"Ah, how interesting! The Apple must have changed me as well!" That was not the panicked tone Ezio had been expecting, but then Leonardo hardly ever seemed to react to things the way Ezio expected. The assassin remembered nearly having a breakdown when he'd realized what had happened, a combination of rage and panic that had gripped him for nearly an hour before he had started for the workshop.

"And you seem to have been aged up as well, Ezio. But I seem to be different than you, and I wonder why?"

Ezio wondered if this was Leonardo's normal ramblings or if it was shock talking. But considering the look in those sharp blue eyes and how fast the tail was wagging, Ezio was certain it wasn't the latter.

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Only Leo would be excited over the idea of being changed like this. This section is the reason it took me so long to post, as I didn't know if I wanted to do this to him or not. But puppy!Leo won in the end. Kitty!Ezio isn't amused. (You have no idea how much I want a puppy!Leo right now.)


End file.
